Saturday, February 10, 2007

Who We Gonna Hate today?


In neighboring Jersey, bigotry seems to be prevailing over better sense. It seems that the Evesham school district has decided that a documentary that helps kids understand the different shapes families take today has been removed from the curriculum for 3rd graders. The Inquirer, in Use of diversity video suspended, reported:

That's a Family! is a half-hour video that depicts children explaining their various family structures, including single parents, divorced parents, adoptive parents and others. The film also contains a segment on families headed by same-sex couples, which sparked the ire of some parents.

School officials said the video was meant to teach diversity and respect for all families, as part of the state-mandated health curriculum.

The district's decision to suspend the showing of the video comes two weeks after administrators held a viewing for parents. Afterward, a debate raged, with parents at times shouting each other down.

The majority of the parents who spoke at that meeting opposed That's a Family!, saying the video was inappropriate for 8-year-olds and that lessons of diversity should be taught at home.

Others called the video "disgusting," and one woman stood to shout that third graders "don't need to see homosexual people in the classroom."

Really? What the kids really need to see is less hatred in the home. See also, Hate wins the day.

I have been following the controversy at The Quaker Agitator since it started, with QuakerDave's first posts on the issue, Speak up for tolerance and More on our little hate problem. After reading about it, I watched a clip of the film, That's a Family!, and thought that it was a well-done, thoughtful, tasteful discussion of families -- of various shapes and sizes.

It amazes me that anyone would find it offensive. After all, diversity makes life interesting. It should be celebrated, not scorned. Why anyone would want to surround themselves with others just like them is beyond my comprehension. Of course, my daughter attended a Quaker lower/middle school that didn't need the film -- the school community embodied the principles promoted in the documentary. I used to joke that a straight couple, of the same faith and race, was the only real minority at the school. She thought two moms or dads was just another version of a family, no big deal.

Evesham apparently does not share that sentiment. Ugliness reigned supreme. Hatred and bigotry were out in force, opposing the use of the film that -- showed gay couples as parents!! See "The homosexual people are coming!"

And Bill O'Reilly had to get in on the act, since screaming hate filled rants were involved. He featured a segment on the school, interviewing two parents. See He's at it again. Funny that. The parent opposed to the film did not even have a child in the 3rd grade at the school. Guess no one else wanted to parade their bigotry for all the world to see. And if we are going to be bigoted, then lets say that the stereotype of the ignorant redneck was safely preserved with his performance. Now that wasn't nice, was it? Nope. Bigotry never is, no matter who it is directed at.

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